patience of an angel
- idiom
:
paciencia de ángel
- Dealing with toddlers requires the patience of an angel and a good sense of humor.
Examples
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She has the patience of an angel when dealing with difficult customers.
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Despite the chaos, he handled the situation with the patience of an angel.
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A nurse must have the patience of an angel to care for patients day after day.
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Don't you think he shows the patience of an angel?
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A nurse must have the patience of an angel to care for patients day after day.
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Dealing with toddlers requires the patience of an angel and a good sense of humor.
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She has the patience of an angel when dealing with difficult customers.
Synonyms
511
1.3
To stay calm and not get annoyed when things take time
3
7.0
Being very calm and kind with people even when things are difficult
A quality of staying calm for a long time despite great problems, like Job in the Bible
Antonyms
How Patient
Surface Forms
Morphology
The meaning 'exceptional patience' is directly inferable from combining 'patience' (calm tolerance) with 'angel' (a prototypically kind, patient figure); the 'of an' possessive pattern signals a simile comparing someone's patience to that of an angel. This is a productive, culturally accessible metaphor found across languages, so a B1 learner who knows the constituents will readily understand the expression.
Etymology
Patience of an angel comes from the picture of angels in stories as calm, kind beings who wait and watch without anger. That's why the phrase is used to mean 'very patient' or someone who stays calm in hard or annoying situations.